When producing sausages, a pasty mass is by use of a filling machine pushed via a hopper and a vane cell pump into a stuffing tube, where the pasty mass is then extruded, for example, from the stuffing tube into a sausage casing. In order to preserve food, in particular pasty mass such as sausage meat, as much air as possible is removed from these masses. A vacuum pump is for this purpose connected to the vane cell pump for the pasty mass in order to evacuate the vane cells of the vane cell pump. Respective filling machines or vane cell pumps are shown, for example, in EP 1 044 612 and EP 1 837 524. FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view through a respective vane cell pump. It is there evident that an evacuation opening is provided in the side wall of the vane cell pump and leads via a channel to the vacuum pump.
It happens when evacuating the delivery cells, however, that parts of the pasty mass are dragged along in the direction of the vacuum pump. A collection container is provided for this reason between the delivery pump and the vacuum pump to collect entrained pasty mass, dirt, and water. Also when cleaning the vane cell pump, parts of the conveyed mass, water, and dirt enter into this collection container. The vacuum pump and the air filter disposed upstream thereof can thereby be protected.
The collection container must be emptied and cleaned at regular intervals to prevent the spread of pathogenic organisms and unpleasant odors. It must additionally be prevented that the mass collected in the collection container exceeds a certain filling level, i.e. it must be prevented that the vacuum connection from the delivery pump to the vacuum pump is interrupted (for example, when the mass collected already completely fills the collection container and already rises into the vacuum lines so that the vacuum lines become clogged). Otherwise, there is an undesirable increase in pressure in the delivery cells. In addition, the vacuum channel between the conveying mechanism and the collection device must be cleaned regularly.
It is with conventional filling machines in the ready-to-operate state not possible to inspect the vacuum channel in order to decide at the right point in time whether the vacuum channel needs cleaning.
Accessibility to the vacuum channel was previously only possible from the upper side of the open conveying mechanism. This means that if e.g. a clogged vacuum channel needs to be cleaned, the hopper of the filling machine must first be emptied in order to then pivot upwardly the pivot casing to which the hopper is attached and at the lower end of which the cover of the vane cell pump is located. Any inspection of the vacuum channel is hardly feasible, and monitoring the collection container is cumbersome since, for example, the collection container is to be inspected behind a flap, while the vacuum must be switched off for inspection. Even with the vane cell pump being open, the vacuum channel and/or the collection container can not be adequately inspected.
Proceeding from there, the present invention is based on the object to inspect and clean the vacuum channel and/or the collection container in a simple manner.
The filling machine according to the invention for the production of sausages comprises a vane cell pump for delivering pasty mass, and a vacuum pump for generating negative pressure in the vane cells of the vane cell pump. The vane cell pump is via a collection container in communication with the vacuum pump. The collection container serves to collect pasty that is mass dragged along as well as fluids. The filling machine comprises an inspection opening in one example facing upwardly or obliquely upwardly which is via a channel in communication with the collection container for inspecting the channel and/or the collection container. This means that the inspection opening can be located in a horizontal plane but also in a plane which is inclined to the horizontal plane, for example, at an angle of 0°-45°, in particular 0°-15°.
This means that the inspection opening that can be freely inspected from above enables inspecting the channel and/or the collection container for fouling without the vane cell conveying mechanism or a flap to the collection container needing to be opened. From above presently means from a position above the vane cell pump or the machine housing, respectively. The degree of fouling of the channel and/or the collection container can thus be determined in a simple manner. Moreover, the inspection opening also provides access to the channel in order to clean the channel when necessary without complex measures being necessary.
Advantageously, the channel is in communication with an evacuation opening in the vane cell pump. This means that the channel is the vacuum channel via which the vane cells of the vane cell pump are evacuated or is at least a part of the vacuum channel or this vacuum connection, respectively. The inspection opening can be located either within the interior of the vane cell pump or, in one example, outside the interior of the vane cell pump.
The inspection opening is advantageously arranged outside the interior of the vane cell pump. The channel and/or the collection container can be freely inspected from a position above the closed cover of the vane cell pump through the inspection opening.
This means that the vane cell pump does not need to be opened when inspecting for fouling, so that, for example, a cover of the vane cell pump together with a pivot housing and a hopper disposed thereon do not need to be pivoted away. An important advantage is also the fact that the channel and/or the collection container can be inspected and cleaned without requiring the hopper to be emptied for this.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the inspection opening is disposed, for example, in a cover of the vane cell pump. In this case, the pivot housing on which the vacuum hopper is disposed and on the underside of which the cover is attached is in certain types of machines smaller than the cover, such that the cover protrudes beyond the pivot housing. But it is also possible that the inspection opening is located in the pivot housing, and a recess then extends from the inspection opening through the pivot housing and the cover to the channel. It is alternatively also possible that the inspection opening is located in the machine housing, i.e. in the surface of the filling machine laterally adjacent to the cover and the pivot housing. The aforementioned embodiments enable the channel and/or the collection container to be inspectable through the inspection opening when the cover is advantageously closed.
Free inspectability is advantageously given from the inspection opening through the channel up to the collection container.
The channel is there formed substantially straight, the channel in particular runs at an angle of 0° to 45°, in one example, 0° to 45° to a vertical longitudinal axis of the filling machine. “Substantially straight” is in this application to mean that the channel is either straight or the curvature or angulation of the channel is so small that the inlet to the collection container can at least partially be recognized from the inspection opening, i.e. that there is at least one straight optical path connecting the inspection opening with the inlet to the collection container. The operator can therefore easily see through the channel up to the collection container.
According to another embodiment, the evacuation opening is located in the pump cover. The evacuation opening has previously been located principally in the side wall of the pump housing. Due to a radial sealing gap between the vane and the vane cell pump housing, pasty mass is dragged along by the rotor and the pump vanes into the evacuation region, i.e. the region in which the evacuation opening is disposed. This dragged along material then deposits on the lateral pump wall in the evacuation region and over time clogs the evacuation opening in the pump wall. Moreover, pasty mass is dragged along into the channel and the collection container. Consequently, the evacuation and thereby the portioning accuracy also deteriorates. According to the present invention, the evacuation opening is now located in the pump cover, i.e. suction is effected upwardly and the vane cells are vented upwardly, respectively, where suction is effected through the pump cover. Whenever a pump vane passes by beneath the evacuation opening, the pasty mass, should something have nevertheless been deposited at the pump cover, is entrained by the pump vanes and the bore hole is thereby kept clear. Keeping the evacuation opening clear at the pump cover is possible for the reason that the gap between the pump vane and the pump cover is considerably smaller than the radial gap between the pump wall and the pump vane. Clogging of the evacuation bore by sausage meat that is dragged along is thereby prevented.
The inspection opening is configured as being closable. The inspection opening can by way of a closure element be closed and also be reopened. The closure element may be configured as an axially movable piston. The closure element can also comprise an inspection glass so that the operator can inspect the channel and/or the collection container also during an ongoing process through the inspection glass and immediately become aware of excessive fouling.
According to another embodiment, the inspection opening is disposed in the upper region of a recess. This recess can be arranged, for example, in the cover of the vane cell pump and/or of the pivot housing or of the machine housing. The recess is open through the inspection opening toward the top and comprises a circumferential side wall and an adjoining lower base region. The channel in one example opens into the lower region of the recess, so that the inspection opening is via the recess in communication with the channel. A further channel section being in communication with the evacuation opening in the vane cell pump in one example advantageously opens into the lower region of the recess. The vane cell pump is therefore via the evacuation opening, the further channel section, the recess and the channel in communication with the collection container.
If also the further channel section is in communication with the lower region of the recess, then the advantage arises that also the channel section and the evacuation opening are inspectable from above through the inspection opening. The entire region from the evacuation opening up to the channel and, in one example, up to the collection container can therefore be inspected when the conveying mechanism is open.
The piston is advantageously arranged to be axially movable in the recess such that in a lower position, it closes either the channel which is in communication with the collection container and/or the further channel section, i.e. separates the channel from the further channel section.
The axially movable piston can also be completely removed from the recess, so that, for example, the channel can be better inspected and cleaned. It is also possible to move the axially movable piston so far upwards that the channel and the further channel section can be vented. In the inserted state, the piston seals the recess from the exterior. The piston can be axially moved manually, for example, by use of a thread, a bayonet closure, etc.
However, it is also possible to provide a driven closure cylinder which separates the vacuum connection between the vacuum pump and the vane cell pump, where the closure cylinder can be retracted—when viewed from a position in the vertical direction—in one example, below the cover into the channel.
According to one embodiment, at least one sensor is integrated in the closure element and/or into the cover of the vane cell pump, in particular for measuring the temperature and/or the pressure or the density or of the air content etc. An optical sensor can also be integrated in the closure element and optically detect, for example, the channel and/or the collection container and illustrate this on a display. According to one embodiment, also the further channel section and optionally the evacuation opening can be optically detected by this sensor. The sensor signals can be supplied to the controller of the filling machine and evaluated there, and thereby be used for automated process control and optimization.
The channel is advantageously formed at least in sections from transparent material, e.g. as a transparent hose which is attached to the recess. Also the collection container is at least in part formed from transparent material in one example. At least one illumination device (for example, an LED lamp) can be provided for illuminating the channel and/or of the collection container, to illuminate the channel and/or the collection container from the outside. If the channel and/or the collection container are illuminated from the outside, then any fouling can be particularly well detected and recognized and a gap-free structure is created.
According to the method of the invention for monitoring the state of fouling of a collection container and/or of a channel via which the collection container is in communication with the inspection opening, a filling machine may be inspected through an inspection opening of the channel, and/or the collection container when the cover of a vane cell pump is closed. The inspection opening may be opened upwardly (or obliquely upwardly) in one example.
When it is determined that the channel is fouled too much, the channel can be cleaned through the inspection opening. When it is detected via the inspection opening that the collection container is too full, then the collection container can at the same time be emptied.
According to one embodiment, also the evacuation opening and/or the channel section which communicates with the evacuation opening can be inspected and cleaned through the inspection opening. This means that the inspection opening is disposed relative to the evacuation opening and/or to the channel section such that free inspectability is ensured from above. This also means that a straight optical path exists which connects the inspection opening with the evacuation opening or the channel section which is in communication with the evacuation opening.